Porsche pilots eager to tackle premiere at Mount Fuji

10:42 AM PST - 10/8/2012Written By: Porsche AGPhotography by: Porsche

Christian Ried, Gianluca Roda, Paolo RubertiSource Porsche

On the Fuji International Speedway, the world’s fastest sports cars make a World Endurance Championship debut in Japan on 14 October. For the Porsche works drivers Marc Lieb (Germany) and Richard Lietz (Austria) driving the Felbermayr-Proton Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, this marks their first race on the circuit at the foot of Mount Fuji.

The race

In Fuji, 1,000 kilometer races enjoy a long-standing tradition. With its 16 corners and an unusually long finish straight, the 4.563 kilometer Fuji International Speedway is challenging and very fast.

The Porsche drivers

Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz face strong opposition from Ferrari and Aston Martin in the hotly contested GTE Pro class. After scoring their second victory of the season in Bahrain, Christian Ried (Germany) and his Italian teammates Gianluca Roda and Paolo Ruberti are back to contest the GTE Am class in last year’s 911 fielded by the Felbermayr-Proton squad.

The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR

The most successful GT race car of the past years is the top model of Porsche Motorsport’s customer racing vehicles. For the 2012 racing season, the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR received extensive modifications. Additionally, the race car was fitted with a new front splitter and an adapted rear wing after Le Mans.

The schedule

The six hour race starts on Sunday, 14 October, at 11.00 hours local time (04.00 hrs CEST). Eurosport broadcasts the final phase from 08.30 hrs live and televises highlights on 16 October at 00.15 hours. The race can be viewed on the internet at www.fiawec.com.

Quotes before the race

Hartmut Kristen, Porsche Head of Motorsport: “The first outing of the World Endurance Championship in Fuji revives the long-standing tradition of endurance racing on this very challenging circuit. The event promises exciting racing at a high level.”

Marc Lieb: “This track is new for us. With the help of onboard footage, we will try to prepare for the race as best we can. In contrast to the last race in Bahrain, the temperatures in Fuji should pose less of a challenge to us. If we’re lucky it might even rain. We are long overdue for our second win of the season.”

Richard Lietz: “I’ve never raced in Fuji. On videos I saw that the race track is very selective and very fast. There are a couple of daunting corners. I’m looking forward to the race and also to travelling to Japan. It’s a country I’ve always been very interested in.”

The World Endurance Championship

Sports prototypes and GT vehicles race in four different classes in the World Endurance Championship: LMGTE Pro, LMGTE Am, LMP1 and the LMP2. They start together but are classified separately.

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